The present uncertainty and escalating price structure of fossil fuels has precipitated a plethora of inventions utilizing "natural" power sources such as solar, wind and geo-thermal energies.
These "natural" energy sources are further demanded by environmentalists to preserve and protect our natural resources and environment from destruction by such hazardous by-products of fossil fuel usage as "acid rain", water pollution, oil spills, and devastated strip-mined landscapes.
In the vehicle washing field with its enormous use of hot water and detergents, such utilization of "natural" energy sources is in its infancy, despite the vast energy and environmental conservation potential.
Today's world requires of the vehicle washing field more efficient use of "natural" energies together with an ecologically sound program for the usage of rainwater and snow, and for the recycling of waste water, in short, a total vehicle washing goal of "natural" energy sources and ecological commitment.
The prior art is fragmented and not satisfactory for the above reasons.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,400 discloses a typical "solar plate" converter system for heating water or other liquid and providing for drainage when temperature overload conditions occur. However, the device is expensive, inefficient, cumbersome to use, and not dependable for commercial usage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,174,703 discloses a solar heat roofing system which utilizes a translucent roof together with a heat transfer fluid manifold system for generating usable heat. Drawbacks of this system are that it is unproven, extremely costly to manufacture and install, and too fragile for industrial usage.
In general, the present inventions and devices are primarily intended for residential utilization. They generally utilize the "solar plate" converter principle either fixed or parabolic plate, and are unreliable, too delicate or costly for commercial use.
There appears to be a need for sophisticated, economical, easily constructed, industrial inventions and devices which overcome the disadvantages of these prior devices.